Groups

Tanzania

Nine out of ten people in Tanzania do not have access to a proper toilet.

Only about half of Tanzania’s population have clean, safe water. Waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea and dysentery, are common. More than a third of children under five in Tanzania are stunted, a condition frequently linked with poor sanitation.

Despite, Tanzania’s economic growth in recent years, almost a third of its population live in poverty. Chronic malnutrition remains a key cause of death for children under five.

Region

Ngara district, north-west Tanzania.

Who’s being helped

Currently, we’re helping to fund work with people in three villages in Ngara district, namely: Chivu, Ibuga and Katerere.

The project

Our partner, the Anglican Diocese of Kagera, has launched a community health project called Afya kwa Wote (which means ‘Health for all’ in Swahili).

Its team start by helping local people to identify their health needs and then to work out how they can solve those problems together. Once people have understood the link between poor health and the lack of proper sanitation, they learn about good hygiene, including the importance of handwashing with soap. Villagers are then encouraged to build new latrines and set up ‘tippy taps’ – a hands-free, hygienic way to wash your hands using a tilting water container. Diarrhoea and skin problems are now much less common than before. (Sources: UNDP; Unicef).